


Necromantic

by knowmeknot



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Decapitation, Dismemberment, Drama, Humor, Implied Cannibalism, Implied/Referenced Incest, M/M, Mutual Pining, Mystery, Undertale aus, Urban Fantasy, Vampire! UT Sans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-12-14 21:18:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21022427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knowmeknot/pseuds/knowmeknot
Summary: In the multi-universal city of Ebott, there exists two types of monsters. There’s the Monsters made up of love, hope and magic. Then there’s the Fallen, monsters that should have died but somehow remain in the physical plane as literal manifestations of the monsters that go bump in the night. Vampires, zombies, ghosts are just some examples.Edge is a Monster who works as a detective in search for his missing brother. With him is Sans, an amnesiac Fallen who has a penchant for drinking blood, magic and ketchup (but not at the same time). Together they fight crime! And more!





	1. Halloween Sucks!

Inside the first floor of an apartment complex, a tall skeleton in dark attire sat hunched over his desk. He went by the name of Edge, and he hated Halloween.

His skull pounded from a developing headache from the constant buzz of screams, shouts and laughter coming from outside his apartment-converted-into-office. He’s had to put up a “FUCK OFF” sign in front of his door to ward off wandering trick-o-treaters. It covered over the “Edge, the Great Detective“ office title. 

Halloween was the one time in the year where his case load would shoot up to the double digits. The worst part was for every legitimate case, there would be approximately five pranks that only served to give him more paperwork and headache. The current one, however, had everything he loved about being a crime investigator.

The lanky skeleton sighed heavily as he flipped to the last page of a fifty-page report, illuminated by a dim desk lamp.

Five deaths in the past five weeks, three of which were humans and two of which were monsters. A group of school children had found the first body floating down a river on the outskirts of Ebott. The second dead body was found in a garbage can behind the alleyway of a popular bar. The third was found in an abandoned apartment complex. This had all occurred within two weeks.

Instead, the two monster deaths happened over a period of three weeks. A Whimson had discovered a pile of dust five blocks away from where the second human body was found. They couldn’t identify who the dead monster was. A week later, a Tsunderplane had reported her missing boyfriend. Two days following that, they found what was believed to be his dust in the park, where Tsunderplane had last seen said boyfriend.

The human news reported the deaths to be separate cases but Edge knew better; these cases were linked. It was only a matter of finding the perpetrator, which Edge had an idea of who-- or what, caused the deaths. 

Rubbing his throbbing temple in an attempt to soothe the pain, Edge got up and stalked into his kitchen. He flicked on the lights. There was a short, stout skeleton lounging on a chair with their slipper-clad feet on the table. Without uttering a word, Edge summoned a sharpened bone and aimed it at the smaller skeleton.

Before the bone attack hit him, the small skeleton vanished and reappeared next to Edge. He had a glass bottle filled with a red substance in his hand.

“whoa, pal, you’ve really _sharpened_ your aimin’ skills!” 

“KEEP YOUR DIRTY SLIPPERS OFF WHERE I EAT, SANS!” Edge countered, his left eye socket twitching. Crossing his arms tightly in front of his chest, he glared at the shorter skeleton and at the bottle in his hand. “ IS THAT A BOTTLE OF BLOOD YOU’RE CARRYING?” 

“how racist of you to assume just ‘cause i’m a vampire, i only drink blood,” Sans quipped with lidded sockets.

“I’M NOT SORRY,” Edge deadpanned.

“ ‘s just ketchup.” Sans grinned, his two lower and upper pointed fangs glinting in the light, and squirted the red substance into his mouth. A few drops dribbled down the corners of his teeth and onto his white shirt.

Edge huffed as he took out a napkin from his Inventory and wiped the offending stain off. Sans’s eye sockets widened, and he backed away, scratching his left cheekbone. His bright white pupils darted to the side.

“heh, never suspected you _tibia_ monster that invaded other’s personal bubbles.”

Ignoring Sans, Edge took a covert whiff of the napkin. Sure enough, the sweet-sour tangy scent of tomatoes met is nose holes. 

“something _sme-atter_, edgy?” Sans questioned lightly, though the corners of his teeth tightened. 

Smirking, Edge tossed the soiled napkin into the trashcan and eyed Sans. 

“YOU LOOK BETTER THAN WHEN I LAST SAW YOU. WHICH WAS EIGHT DAYS AGO IN CASE YOU DIDN’T REALIZE. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?”

Sans shrugged with false easiness, “places.”

“HOW DECIDEDLY UNSPECIFIC.”

“that’s how i roll.” 

Sans gulped down the rest of the ketchup bottle and chucked it into the trash. It was a slam dunk.

“HM-MMM, AND HAVE YOU GOTTEN A CHANCE TO REVIEWED OUR CURRENT CASE?”

“y’mean those five murders?”

“MURDERS, CORRECT. ONES THAT ARE LIKELY CAUSED BY THE SAME PERSON, MONSTER, OR... HAS THE LINKS IN THIS CASE _FALLEN_ TO CATCH YOUR ATTENTION?” Edge’s ruby eye lights brightened. 

Sans scratched his skull, teeth curling to a knowing smile. “can’t say it has.”

“OF COURSE IT DIDN’T,” Edge replied drily. 

Edge walked back into his office, with Sans following after him, to pick up the notebook with his notes jotted down. 

He announced, “TWO PUNCTURE WOUNDS WERE FOUND ON THE NECKS OF THE THREE HUMAN BODIES. AUTOPSY REPORTS SHOWED EXTREME PALLOR AND LOSS OF TWO POINT FIVE LITERS OF BLOOD.” 

Edge fixed Sans with a pointed stare. Sans clutched at his chest in false pretense. 

“c’mon, buddy, o’ pal… partner. we’ve known each other for three months now--”

“ACTUALLY, IT’S BEEN TWO MONTH, THREE WEEKS, AND ONE DAY SINCE OUR FIRST ENCOUNTER.”

“whoa, didn’t expect ya to be keepin’ track so closely.”

Standing tall, Edge puffed out his chest. “BUT OF COURSE! MY MEMORY IS IMPECCABLE AS I AM THE GREAT DETECTIVE EDGE!” 

“yep, ya sure are. so cool,” Sans stated as though it were a fact of the world.

Edge choked down his gasp at the unexpected praise by clearing his nonexistent throat. His cheeks tinged to a light pink. 

“what about the monster deaths?”

“SINCE THE FALLEN ARE BELIEVED TO BE ORIGINALLY MONSTERS, THEN WOULDN’T IT BE REASONABLE TO ASSUME THAT VAMPIRE TYPE FALLEN CAN CONSUME MAGIC JUST LIKE THEY CAN USE HUMAN BLOOD?”

Sans curled his phalanges into fists and stuff them in his jacket pocket, shoulders taut as a pulled elastic band and eye lights downcasted.

“I’LL TAKE THAT AS YOUR FORM OF ‘YES’,” Edge huffed. He uncrossed his arms to lay his right hand on his hips. “IN ANY CASE, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY YOU’RE A PRIME SUSPECT, CORRECT? I FEARED THE HUMAN AND MONSTER LAW ENFORCEMENTS HAD GOTTEN YOU”

Sans perked back up. 

“aw, are you actually worried for ol’ sansy?” He gave Edge a saucy wink.

“NOT A CHANCE.”

“suuuure. anyways, you don’t gotta worry for me. i got it covered.”

“AND WHY WOULD THAT BE?” Edge asked, crossing his arms in front of him again. 

“cuz i know the real culprit.” 

Sans reached into the pocket of his ratty, blue hoodie and drew out a photograph. He tossed it towards Edge, who caught it easily within his pointer and middle phalanges.

“nice catch.”

Ignoring Sans, Edge peered at the photo. It displayed a smiling rabbit monster. Edge knew her by the name of Bonnie Bun. He’d seen her work as a shopkeeper.

“she was reported missing two months ago according to her family and coworkers. from rent records, she lived in the same apartment where second human body was found.” 

Sans pulled out a small map of Ebott. There was a red circle connecting where the two human bodies and the two monster dust were found. 

“all within a few blocks from each other. only the river is an anomaly. though from personal experience…” Sans’s eye lights dimmed considerably. “i doubt the first murder was planned.”

Edge reviewed the map, his notes and the picture, brows furrowed. He then nodded, a smile gracing into his shark-like teeth.

“IMPRESSIVE, SANS, YOU DO HAVE A FUNCTIONING BRAIN. IT’S QUITE BRIGHT IN FACT. IF ONLY YOU USED IT MORE OFTEN.”

“well don’t get used to it.” Sans sauntered up to Edge’s desk, leaning casually against it. “‘fraid i’m gonna sit out on the rest of this one.”

Edge raised a bone brow in askance. Sans chuckled and scratched his neck.

“ ‘cause two vamps will get messy. trust me on this one.”

“THAT IS FINE. I AM MORE THAN ENOUGH TO HANDLE A CONFRONTATION!”

“if ya say so.” 

Sans took out a ketchup packet and squeezed the contents into his open mouth.

“UGH, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!” Edge exclaimed, turning his head from the display. “AT LEAST THE BLOOD DRINKING MAKES SENSE.”

Sans only chuckled.

“ANYWAY, LET’S GET BACK ON TRACK. THE LAST ATTACK WAS EIGHT DAYS AGO. WE’RE DUE FOR ANOTHER ONE, AND I PREDICT IT WILL BE LATER TONIGHT!”

“and why’s that?”

“BECAUSE IT IS HALLOWEEN! THE MOST FITTING DAY FOR A MURDER THAT CAN BE MISCONSCRUED AS AN ACCIDENT UNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS.”

“can’t argue with ya there.”

Sans disappeared and reappeared, sitting on Edge’s desk with his bony legs crossed. Using his left hand to prop himself up, he pointed at the map. 

“and this is where i think she’ll strike next. did some snooping—“

“YOU MEAN ILLEGALLY TRESPASSING AND STALKING.”

“heh. might as well use my special vamp skills to assist ya since i have ‘em.”

“FAIR ENOUGH.”

“so i believe she’ll strike there.”

Edge peered down and squinted at the where Sans’s pointer phalange was directed.

“THEN THAT’S WHERE I WILL STRIKE.” 

Edge smiled wide and full of teeth

———

Edge laid out the final piece of his trap, set up within the back alley besides a monster bar called Grillby’s. It only took an hour for him to set up. It only took a series of springs, fire escapes and rebounding physics, the latter a courtesy of Sans. 

Edge glanced out at his watch, which read 11:50 PM. Using his gravity magic, he leapt onto the roof of Grillby’s and laid down on his front, eyes overlooking the back alley.

It didn’t take long before a petite rabbit and a large brown bear monster entered the alleyway, chattering amicably. The female rabbit giggled, extending her right arm to reveal razor-sharp nails. With lightning speed, she covered the monster’s jaw before he could react, and smashed him against the brick wall. 

Edge pulled down the emergency ladder closest to him just as Bonnie was about to sink her long fangs into the bear’s bare neck. A series of clangs rang out, all ending in a loud fart noise. Everyone froze.

“I’m going to kill that boneheaded leech the next time I see him,” Edge groaned quietly to himself, his right eye socket twitching uncontrollably.

Thankfully, the trap had worked, as a silver dagger shot from a hole in the wall and buried itself inside Bonnie’s right shoulder. The Fallen screeched cold blooded murder, causing the bear monster to finally come to his senses and dash out of there.

Before the vampire could recover sharp, towering blue bones surrounded her like a cage. 

“Who’s messing with me?!” Bonnie snarled, her fur standing on its ends.

Edge chose that moment to reveal himself, jumping off the roof to land gracefully on the ground. He stood at a towering height over the other.

“IT IS I, THE GREAT DETECTIVE EDGE. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR THE MURDER OF THREE HUMANS AND TWO MONSTERS. DO YOU HAVE ANY LAST WORDS BEFORE I TURN YOU IN, YOU DISGRACEFUL FALLEN? HUMANS, I CARE NOT FOR, BUT KILLING MONSTERS AS WELL?”

Bonnie simply glowered at Edge, face contorted with murderous rage. But then after noticing her surroundings, she laughed.

“You monsters think you’re better than us, but you don’t know anything! You can’t understand the hunger we go through!” Bonnie extended her arms towards the bones. “We are monsters that should’ve dusted but were given another chance of life. We’re technically dead so we have no magic of our own. But we need and crave for it desperately to survive! I would starve without it!”

Edge frowned at her words, eye sockets narrowed. 

Three bones suddenly shattered without warning. Bonnie lunged at Edge, swiping her claws at him. 

“Thanks for the magic, bonehead!”

Edge dodged too late. He roared as Bonnie slashed at the right side of his face, drawing three claw marks down from his right temple to his cheeks. He stumbled back with a gloved hand clutched at his wounded face.

“Got you now.” 

Bonnie wrapped her hands around his shoulders to force him to his knees. Growling, Edge kicked out his legs out from under him. Bonnie gasped as she fell. Without hesitating, he took out a spare silver dagger from his inventory and stabbed it forcefully into her right thigh. The vampire screeched in agony. 

Edge sprang back up and away from Bonnie, panting deeply. Just then, heavy footsteps echoed behind him. 

“This is monster law enforcement. Bonnie Bun, Classification Vampire Fallen, you are under arrest!”

A blue-skinned fish monster wearing a red and black uniform and carrying a silver spear marched into the alley. Two armor-clad monsters from behind her walked forward to restrain the Fallen.

“She’s to be taken to Monsters Incorporated!” The fish monster ordered.

“Yes, sheriff!” The other two saluted her and forced the Fallen into their vehicle.

“UNDYNE,” Edge called out.

Undyne took one look at Edge and his bleeding injury. Her cheeks flushed red with anger.

“Edge! You dumbass punk! You should’ve called us before you went to play hero! You could’ve been killed, or worse!” 

“I HAD IT UNDER CONTROL!” 

“Sure you did! Now go rest up!” 

Undyne slapped her hand across Edge’s back, making his wound throb. He gritted his teeth. 

“HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS?”

Rolling her one eye, Undyne answered, “I received an anonymous tip that you had leads. If I hadn’t broken into you office and seen your notes and the map, I wouldn’t‘ve believed it. Ha! It was lucky for you that I did!”

Edge cursed rudely at the fact he would have to change his locks. Again. For the fifth time this month. Undyne cursed back at him and punched his shoulder again. She then cackled loudly without restraint. Edge simply sighed.

In the dark night with his white skull hidden underneath his gray hood and hands stuffed in his hoodie’s pockets, Sans sat perched on the roof of the third building away from Grillby’s, watching Edge and Undyne’s banter with a relieved smile.


	2. A Bite to Die For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edge and Sans have a zombie case on their hands. Meanwhile, a newcomer shows up at their doorsteps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter warnings (just to let you all know, the M rating for this fic is not due to smut): dismemberment, decapitation, gore, blood, literal face biting/eating, implied cannibalism, implied incest**

”In other news today, the identity of the axe murderer that’s been killing humans for the last two months is still unknown. His death toll is now at six. Tension between humans and monsters is rising as each group is blaming the other...”

Flip.

“Are you ready, kids? Aye-ey cap--!”

Flip

“WELCOME TO METTATON’S POWER HOUR, WITH YOUR HOST, THE AMAZING ROBOT MONSTER HIMSELF!”

“OOH YES~!”

The television flicked off.

“there’s nothing to watch,” Sans grumbled as he became one with Edge’s ratty black cough.

Edge huffed, not looking up from his attention on their current case’s report, “YOU COULD BE HELPING ME INSTEAD OF WASTING AWAY ON MY FURNITURE..” 

“can’t you just read it to me?” Sans’s voice was particularly whiny, almost like a petulant child.

Edge finally peered up, giving Sans the most deadpan of stares. The blank wall was more expressive.

“WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO COOK A MEAL WITH THAT AS WELL?”

Sans sat up, pupils dilated and bright. “would ya really? i mean, i could survive without monster or human food but it’s nice t’ have sometimes.”

Caught off guard, Edge eye light’s fell back on the report and said, “ONLY IF YOU ACTUALLY PUT IN THE EFFORT TO DESERVE MY GREAT CULINARY SKILLS.”

“you’ve got a deal.”

Edge got up from his desk to pass the report over to Sans, who remained stuck on the couch. 

The current case was a request sent directly by the human branch of the Ebott Police Department. Edge typically worked for the monster side of the law, but given the drought of cases since Halloween, he needed the extra job. The interesting premise helped.

There had been two deaths thus far. The first body was an eighty-year-old, female, believed to have died of natural means if not for the nine inch in diameter bite in her trunk region. The second body, male, age estimated to be late-thirties or early-forties, had been discovered headless. The cut along his neck was messy and uneven. Cause of death presumed to be decapitation from a saw or an axe. The body had a nine-inch diameter bite marks on his shoulder and a missing left leg. The left leg appeared to have been ripped out. 

“looks like we’ve got ourselves a zombie to catch.”

“THERE ARE ZOMBIE FALLEN?”

“probably. if there’s vampires, why not zombies as well.” Sans shrugged.

“WHAT OTHER ENTITIES DO YOU FALLEN TAKE?”

“besides vampires, and now zombies, there’s ghosts. i know of one in fact. she’s a pal.”

“IS SHE NOW?” Edge frowned.

“but this second body was found in pine tree park? isn’t that just a few blocks from here?”

“YES, IT’S FIVE BLOCKS.”

Edge rubbed his right temple in an attempt to abate the lingering pain from the three claw marks. It healed without infection but will scar, according to Dr. Alphys.

“you ok?” Sans’s concerned tone had Edge stopping the motion. 

Sans’s ever-smiling teeth pulled into a guilty frown. His pupils fixed at the ground.

Edge scoffed, waving a hand, “IT’S MORE A MINOR ANNOYANCE. BESIDES, IT’S A COST OF MY OWN CARELESSNESS.”

Sans opened his mouth to argue but a loud knock interrupted him. Both Sans and Edge fell silent, glancing at each other before directing their gazes at the door. It was close to midnight and very few people, monster or human, were out this late in this part of Ebott. 

Edge stood up, summoning a sharp bone construct within his left hand, and peeped outside his eye hole. The stranger was even taller than him given the dark shadow blocking his view. Edge swung open the door. 

The light from Edge’s office revealed a skeleton monster with beady eye sockets. They would’ve easily been close to eight feet tall if he weren’t hunched. They had a long face with large flat teeth that seemed to have been punch out and pasted back into their mouth. Some of them were stained a reddish-brown color. The monster had a pasty complexion. Edge raised his bone dagger in preparation for violence.

“HEL-HELLO,” a low, booming yet raspy voice called out. “COME IN?” A shaky hand pointed at himself.

Edge took a step back just as Sans sauntered over. The large crooked-teeth monster immediately perked up at the sight of Sans. 

“BR-BRODER!” 

With a smile, the skeleton forced himself inside, knocking Edge over in the process.

“HOW DARE YOU--!”

And scooped Sans up into his arms and hugged Sans as though he were a teddy bear. 

“whoa, there, pal,” Sans struggled to push himself free, but the monster only tightened his hold on Sans. “who’re ya?”

The one with the crooked teeth rubbed his skull against Sans’s before he abruptly stopped. And immediately dropped Sans.

“NOT… NOT BRODER.” 

The large monster crumbled into himself. His lower jaw trembled before he broke into wailing sobs. Sans and Edge glanced at each other in bewilderment. When the stranger’s cries only grew louder, Sans wrapped his arms, at least as much as he could, around the giant skeleton.

“hey, it’s ok crooks-- you don’t mind me callin’ ya that, would ya?”

“C-CROOKS?”

“yeah, think of it as, uh, a nickname.”

“THAT’S AN AWFUL NICKNAME, SANS!” Edge scolded.

Crooks’s tears finally stopped and his face brightened. It would’ve been almost cute had it not been for his skewed teeth. 

“CROOKS. CROOKS!” he nodded with an excited jump, shaking the foundations of Edge’s apartment.

“DO NOT JUMP LIKE THAT!” Edge snarled. He stood with his arms akimbo, scowling at Crooks. “WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE?”

Crooks turned to Edge, then hoisted Sans up back into his arms. He grinned. 

“LOOK FOR BRODER!”

“well we can help you with that,” Sans offered. “won’t we, edge?”

Edge made a sound of disapproval and crossed his arms, eye sockets glaring harshly at Crooks. At Crooks’s stupid, hopeful grin and Sans’s imploring stare, Edge couldn’t help but concede. He too had a brother to search for; it would be hypocritical of him to deny this monster’s request.

Edge offered Crooks to stay with him given that he had no idea what sort of living situation Sans had. The arrangement was simple: Crooks stayed in Edge’s apartment-converted-office, taking care of chores and cleaning. Edge discovered early on-- the day after their initial arrangement was set up-- that Crooks was forbidden from entering the kitchen; he had almost burned down the place. Crooks never left the house, especially during the day. In fact, Crooks would close all the curtains to make sure the apartment was as dark as possible. 

Sans dropped by more often, mainly to provide Crooks company and to help Edge with any leads. Crooks went back to holding and cuddling Sans like a teddy bear. The sight always made Edge’s magic boil for reasons he couldn’t discern. Crooks himself provided little information on his brother’s wearabouts. Crooks described him as “LIKE SANS BUT BIG!”. He hinted that he’d been looking for his sibling for years but gave no exact length of time. In fact, Crooks had difficulty communicating with Edge and Sans. Crooks understood them, but he rarely responded with anything more than simple phrases or words.

This became a problem when both Edge and Sans began to notice some concerning behaviors. Despite eating nearly all the leftover takeout and non-perishable contents in Edge’s fridge and pantry within two days-- only boxes of uncooked pasta and fresh produce remained-- Crooks still complained of hunger. Edge decided, one day, to cook monster food infused with his magic: his famous cheese and water sausage lasagna. While Edge cooked, Crooks sat on the couch with Sans in his arms. Sans was reading over the updated report on their current case.

Without warning, Crooks sank his uneven teeth onto the top of Sans’s skull. Startled, Sans yelped loud enough for Edge to rush into the living room. 

“LET HIM GO!” he roared. 

His eye lights glowed. Sharp bones hovered behind him, all of them aimed at Crooks’s huge form. Crooks immediately dropped Sans, buried his skull into his large skeletal hands and wailed, loud and heaving. 

“SO-SORRY… CROOKS, CROOKS DID A B-BAD!” His sobs increased in volume.

Sans and Edge looked at each other. A set of deep teeth marks littered Sans’s skull but it was otherwise unharmed. With no immediate danger, Edge dissipated the bone constructs.

“hey, hey, it’s fine crooks. _eats_ not that bad. you barely made a dent,” Sans winked and turned around so Crooks can see his skull better.

Sure enough, the bite mark faded as he spoke. Edge walked over to Sans with an intense stare at the now-healed area. Sans shifted and shuffled his feet at the attention. Seeing Sans unharmed, Crooks ceased his crying.

“FOOD IS READY BY THE WAY! FOLLOW ME, CROOKS!” Edge announced, leading the hunched skeleton over to the kitchen. Once the two were out of earshot of Sans, Edge whispered, “If I ever catch you hurting Sans again, I won’t hesitate to hurt you back.”

Crooks’s sockets drooped and his lower jaw trembled again. He curled further into himself. Frantically, with a glance back to make sure Sans was still absent, Edge placated the giant.

“Look, I mean no harm, but I can’t have you living here if you go around hurting others.” Edge raised a clawed hand and awkwardly patted Crooks’s right shoulder. “If you promise that, you can stay until we find your brother.” 

Crooks gave an affirmative nod and gave a smile matching his namesake. “CROOKS PROMISE!”

“aw, lookit you two,” Sans uttered. He appeared leaning against the doorway, looking smug. 

Edge swiftly retracted his arm and retorted, “SH-SHUT UP AND GO EAT YOUR FOOD!” 

Both Crooks and Sans took one bite and their sockets widened. 

“holy shit, this is delicious.” Sans’s pupils briefly morphed into stars.

Crooks finished his serving of lasagna in a single bite and held up his plate. “MORE! MORE! CROOKS WANTS MORE!”

Edge puffed out his chest. “BUT OF COURSE, YOU SHOULD ONLY EXPECT THE BEST FROM THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE!”

It was a good thing Edge made enough lasagna to feed a family of twelve. The meal brought color into Crooks’s ashen complexion. Amidst the chatter and chuckles, Edge smiled.

True to his words, Crooks refrained from biting Sans. Ever since the incident, however, Edge had begun to suspect that Crooks was not a normal monster. 

Late one evening, the detective came home after a meeting with Undyne had run overtime; the axe murderer had begun to terrorize their district and it was causing quite a ruckus. Crooks opened the door for him. While the door was ajar, Crooks spotted a stray white cat scurrying across the road right in the path of an incoming, speeding car. One minute, Edge was greeting him; the next, there was only an empty doorway. A terrible crunch came from behind Edge. 

Edge snapped his skull to see Crooks sprawled on the road. His spine was bisected in two. The gray Honda Civic that had struck him, with its broken front bumper scraping against the asphalt, sped down the road and disappeared in the distance. Edge rushed over to Crooks, reaching into his inventory for any healing foods. He prayed that Crooks wouldn’t dust.

He didn’t. 

The broken skeleton reached over with his bent right arm, his left still carrying the unharmed cat, and put his spine together. Literally. It mended itself as though it were stitched together. The bones were gray and unhealthy. Undead.

“KITTY SAFE!” Crooks exclaimed, petting the terrified feline.

“YOU’RE A FALLEN,” Edge stated.

“a zombie to be exact.”

Edge startled. He peered over to the blue-clad skeleton suddenly next to him. 

“HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN?”

“uh, as soon as he appeared, heh. call it fallen intuition.”

“RIGHT,” Edge growled, crossing his arms in front of him and frowning. “AND YOU PLANNED TO TELL ME THIS WHEN, EXACTLY? HOPEFULLY NOT BEFORE ONE OF US IS HALF EATEN!” 

Sans shrank into his hoodie, not looking at Edge. 

“WE’LL DISCUSS THIS LATER. FIRST WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH CROOKS.”

A loud hiss brought their attention to the cat, who clawed at Crooks in an attempt to free itself. Edge reached down to extricate the feline. He gave it a few soothing pets before placing it on the ground. It glanced once at him and scurried off into a line of bushes. 

“LET’S GET YOU INSIDE,” Edge suggested.

Crooks blinked. “CROOKS STAY?”

Rubbing his temple, Edge answered tersely, “YES. IT WOULD BE THE SAFEST OPTION.” 

“Safe” was relative. Why Edge was protecting the humans from this Fallen when they were getting all up and arms against monsters, is anyone’s guess. The least he could do is work with Sans to come up with a solution. 

With help from Sans, the two of them carried Crooks’s still healing body inside. Edge microwaved the leftover lasagna as Sans chatted with Crooks. The monster food sped up the healing process. An hour later, Crooks was all “fixed”. Healed was barely an apt description due to Crooks’ even more deathly appearance. 

“So are zombie Fallen virtually unkillable by normal means?” Edge asked Sans in his private office away from Crooks.

Sans shrugged in his chair. “probably not. just like i can be killed despite being a vampire. pretty sure if enough damage is done to crooks, he eventually will stop being able to put himself back together. extensive damage to his skull might do it too.”

“I see.” Edge leered at Sans with a frown. “Are zombies also weak to silver like you are?”

Sans shook his head. “nope. the weakness of a fallen depends on what they are. at least, that’s from my research. either way, we gotta make sure the human police never find crooks.’

“That is understandable. They are useless in handling monster matters and only create more problems.” Edge scoffed. He pulled out his cellphone. “I’ll discuss with Undyne and see if she can set something up with Monsters, Incorporated to handle the situation.”

Sans’s shoulders slouched further within his seat, face pulled into a grimace.

“Out with it.”

Sans blinked. “what?” 

Edge pinched the bridge of his nasal bone and sighed, “You clearly disagree with my suggestion.”

“i just get a bad vibe from them.”

“And you won’t tell me why?” 

Sans flinched from the sharp accusatory tone. 

“They’re the only facility capable of locking up these dangerous Fallen--”

“crooks isn’t--”

“He tried to eat you.” Edge’s eye lights narrowed into slits and his hands clenched into fists. 

“i’m fine, ain’t i?” Sans answered, waving his hand in dismissal. 

“And what about the two dead humans in our current case?” Edge countered. His fists shook. “You’re smart, Sans, don’t tell me you haven’t pieced together the fact that Crooks may be our zombie suspect.”

Sans didn’t answer, his brows furrowed. Eventually, he reached into the pocket of his jacket to extract a crumpled piece of paper. He handed over to Edge. It read: _51 degrees, 78 degrees N_. 

“first we reunite him with his bro. then i’ll take ‘em over there.” He pointed to the sheet of paper.

“What is this?”

“the coordinates of a place i know. they’re a friend. they helped me when i’d first turned. i can port ‘em over there.”

Edge stood up from his seat. His entire upper torso was taut. “FINE, DO AS YOU WISH.” 

Sans found himself alone in the office. After checking to make sure Crooks was fine, Sans left with a heaviness in his chest.

The following day, the morning news announced that the axe murderer had struck again, this time at Pine Tree Park. Not only had the human victim been nearly cleaved in two, they also had a chunk of their face missing. Edge immediately went to find Crooks, who had been resting in Edge’s walk-in closet. He appeared the same as yesterday; there was no evidence of any gore or blood. 

Sans was nowhere to be found.

Not letting it bother him, Edge responded to a call from the human police department. They demanded that he be at the crime scene since they had apparently caught the perpetrator, and Undyne was currently unavailable. The park had already been sectioned off from pedestrians. Eight police cars lined the perimeter of the park. 

Edge arrived just in time to witness a large lumberjack axe behead a human police officer. A spray of blood splattered into the air as the body plopped onto the grass like a puppet with its strings cut. Distorted cackles came from the individual wielding the axe. 

He was a massive skeleton that stood at least six feet tall. Fresh blood soaked his worn, tattered gray jacket and black shorts. His soiled teeth curled into a face-splitting grin, and the crimson pinpricks of light centered in his massive eye sockets gleamed with madness. 

“heheheh, and ‘nother bites the dust. bwahahaha!” the monster sang as he moved towards the next group of humans, swinging his weapon.

“Stand down, demon, or we’ll use deadly force!” A brave officer announced through a microphone. The few behind him, despite having their guns locked and ready to shoot, looked ready to bolt, horror etched on their expressions.

The axe murderer shuffled towards them. “heh, can’t kill me when i’mma already dead!”

He charged. _Bang! Bang! Bang!_ The bullets did nothing to slow the crazed skeleton. He raised his axe, aimed towards the leading officer. Having seen enough, Edge turned the monster’s colorless soul blue and shoved him away from the humans. The skeleton roared. He reared his skull to Edge, his pinpricks blazing. 

“STAND DOWN,” Edge barked at the human police, who hesitantly did as they were told. 

Edge turned back towards the perpetrator, keeping his magic’s grip on the other’s soul. He’d finally connected the dots after seeing this raving skeleton. 

“YOU HAVE CAUSED QUITE ENOUGH OF A RUCKUS, FALLEN!”

The Fallen froze at the sight of Edge, and then gave a bitter sneer. “ya ain’t ‘im.”

“CORRECT, I’M NOT YOUR BROTHER.” Edge raised an arm. “BUT I KNOW WHERE HE IS.”

A beat. 

“liar.”

With a grunt, the Fallen hurled his axe at Edge. It aimed at his head. Edge dodged left. The Fallen broke free of his blue magic. Leaping into the air, the larger skeleton caught the flying axe, shifted his own momentum, and landed right in front of Edge. The bloody blade of the weapon glinted over Edge’s skull. 

A soft crack filled the air. Crooks suddenly appeared right in front of the two of them.

“BRODER! CROOKS FIND YOU!” 

Crooks jumped and embraced his shell-shocked brother, who dropped his weapon and hesitantly returned the gesture. 

“bro, is tat really ya?” the Fallen gave a shaky smile.

“Disgusting! Kill it!” 

_Boom!_

A stray bullet smashed into the top left side of the Fallen’s skull, taking out a chunk of it. Crooks cried out in distress. 

Edge spun around, glowering at the lead officer who’d fired the shot. “I’D TOLD YOU TO STAND DOWN, YOU IMBECILE!”

“Shut the fuck up, monster! Your kind is no different!”

A blood-curdling shriek rang out All heads turned in the direction of the sound. Crooks had reached the police guards in the left flank faster than any of them expected and had bitten off an officer’s arm. 

Crooks let the bloody stump fall out of his jaw and growled, “YOU HURT BRODER! CROOKS HURT YOU!”

Pandemonium broke out amongst the human police force. Screams of horror, shots rang out and two police cars sped away.

“no, bro, don’t!” The axe murderer shakily got up to his feet and lumbered towards Crooks, who was dodging and retaliating against any humans attacking him. 

Edge prepared his magic to assist when he suddenly felt a chilling and familiar presence besides him, though the spot was empty.

“cover for me,” he heard Sans whisper.

Edge sighed and rolled his pupils, “YOU OWE ME. BIG TIME. THE DISHES ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE NEXT MONTH.”

Sans feigned a long-suffering groan but grinned. “heh, you got it. thanks, pal.”

“YOU BETTER HURRY.”

While Edge used his magic discreetly to ensure neither the two Fallen nor any more of the humans died, Sans grabbed hold of the two brothers and ported them away from the scene. He and his two passengers reappeared in front of the mouth of a cave.

“wha the fuck?!” the axe-wielder exclaimed.

“SANS!” Crooks gave the vampire a tight hug.

“nice to see you too, crooks.”

Crooks’s brother glared at Sans but refrained from attacking him. 

“Ah, Sans! I’m glad you were able to successfully bring them over here,” a soft voice came from within the cave.

A short, black creature wearing green robes and a wizard hat walked out of the cave. A young adult human donned in armor and a pink scarf followed behind him.

“hey you two, i’ll let you handle the rest. i gotta get back to the city.”

“Take care, Sans!” the green-clad creature said with a wave. 

The human gave Sans a deadpan salute. Crooks also waved good-bye. The two newcomers turned to the other two.

“Welcome, I’m Ralsei,” the darkner introduced. “and this is Kris.”

The human nodded at them and waved. 

“We’re here to help Fallen such as yourselves. You two are?”

“CROOKS!”

Crooks’s brother shrugged, picking at the new hole in his skull. “memory’s bad. ain’t got one, probably.” 

Ralsei glanced at the bloody weapon in his left hand.

“How about Axe?”

The skeleton hoisted the axe over his shoulders and grinned. “heh, sounds biting. i like it.”

\-----

_Fifteen years ago..._

_“BROTHER, THE HUNGER, I CAN’T STAND IT!” _

_Crooked teeth opened and closed over his bare shoulder._

_“it’s gonna be ok, sugar,” he wrapped his arms tighter around his precious sibling. “do it.” _

_He offered himself. His brother’s face scrunched into despair; no tears fell. His brother couldn’t cry, after all._

_“YOU’LL DUST, BROTHER.”_

_“it’s ok, sugar. i won’t leave ya. no matter what, i’ll find ya. i promise.”_

_Teeth sank into his bones. His soul trembled, ready to shatter. Filled with determination, he willed himself to remain. He willed himself back into existence. And awoke as a Fallen._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing the Horrortale bros. Hope it wasn't too bad. As always, thanks for reading! uwu

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a plot bunny of mine for quite some time. I have the plot arcs roughly planned out to be around a total of 24/26 chapters (like a one season TV series haha) but am missing the finer details. If you want to be my brainstorm buddy, let me know! Of course this is if you don't mind spoilers. ;D
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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